Episode 11 of the China Sports Insider Podcast features:
- The latest on the Olympic ice hockey drama – the Chinese men’s team is now confirmed to be in, so what does that mean come February?
- The US announces a diplomatic boycott (read “boycott”) for the 2022 Games; we discuss what that means in practical terms.
- And with the Chinese Super League returning this weekend after a four-month break, we speak to Tariq Panja from The New York Times and Nikki Wang, formerly an adviser to the CSL with Deloitte, on the overall state of Chinese football and how things got so bad.
Click through to hear the show (full blurb and timestamps below). Please leave feedback in the comments!
Continue reading Olympic “Boycott”, Hockey Showdown & the CSL Returns To Action →
With five months to go until the 2022 Winter Olympics, one big question that has loomed large over the Games has now been answered – NHL players will again be back at the Olympics having been forced to skip Pyeongchang in 2018. That means Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and many more will actually be in Beijing – and soon! Let’s take a look at what this means – for the players, for the Olympics and for hockey fans worldwide.
Continue reading Confirmed: NHL Stars Set to Play at 2022 Beijing Olympics →
There are a lot of outstanding questions about exactly how the 2022 Beijing Olympics might look and, to be frank, there is still a lot that’s unknown – largely because the organizers haven’t made or announced their final decisions. But things are starting to take shape and – despite the uncertainty that COVID-19 clearly brings – there is a fair amount we can be confident about.
Continue reading Bursting The Bubble: What We Know About the 2022 Olympics →
In this week’s look at all the latest news in the build-up to the 2022 Olympics and elsewhere:
- NHL’s decision on Beijing Olympics comes down to the wire
- Team China lining up “heritage players” despite contract standoff
- Japan, Australia block China’s route to World Cup qualification
- Men’s basketball team misses Olympics for first time since 1984
- The latest 2022 Olympics boycott talk from around the world
- All the other features and stories of interest
Continue reading NHL Players Could Miss Out On Olympics As Deadline Looms →
Weekly Roundup
- Six potential scenarios for Chinese ice hockey ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympics
- Latest news on whether NHL players will return to Olympics
- Pfizer competes with Chinese vaccines at Tokyo and Beijing Games
- Boycott Watch
- Other stories in the build-up to Beijing 2022
Can the Car Crash Be Avoided?
Thanks to all of you who got in touch after last week’s story about the current state of Chinese ice hockey and the car crash that appears to lie in wait at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. I heard from multiple players, coaches, industry execs and journalists, who all reached out to offer some thoughts. It also resulted in at least one follow-up story, with The Economist – of all people – highlighting the situation.
Continue reading Rocky Road Ahead for Chinese Ice Hockey Hopefuls →
- World governing body IIHF threatening to expel China from Olympic ice hockey tournament.
- IIHF prepared to bend eligibility rules for China to avoid global embarrassment.
- New Canadian coach hired with just nine months to go.
- Political infighting hindering recruitment process for players.
In news that has not previously been reported, China Sports Insider can exclusively reveal that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has threatened to kick the Chinese team out of its own Olympic ice hockey tournament on home soil in Beijing if China doesn’t get its act together quickly, according to multiple sources. Furthermore, the situation is so dire that the IIHF has offered to waive its own eligibility requirements to allow China to bolster its own team through foreign-born recruits.
Continue reading Frostbitten: China Facing Olympic Ice Hockey Expulsion →
As part of a recent panel event at the Bookworm Festival in Beijing, I interviewed Zach Yuen, the first player of Chinese descent to be drafted by an NHL team (Winnipeg Jets, 2011) and current defenceman with the China-based Kunlun Red Star in the KHL. Though born and raised in Vancouver, Yuen could now qualify to play for China under IIHF rules and is one of a leading group of ethnically-Chinese foreigners who could represent China at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
Continue reading Interview: Zach Yuen, the face of Chinese ice hockey →
Sports business news and analysis in China and Asia
